Experts around the world have raised concerns about a potential shortage of glass vials needed to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine. SiO2's technology does not rely on the traditional sand-to-glass supply chain which enables them to scale manufacturing faster and more effectively than traditional glass manufacturers.

"When you look at the pharma glass packaging industry, it's controlled by international companies who produce a glass product that was invented in the 1890s and has hardly evolved since," said Lawrence Ganti, Chief Business Officer of SiO2. "The urgent need for a large supply of glass has shown the world the risks of depending on traditional glass. It's time for pharma to rethink glass."

The news comes one month after announcing a $143 million investment from the US government to accelerate the production of SiO2's state-of-the-art, patented, primary packaging platform for storing the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) vaccines and therapeutics.

The government contract agreement was signed with the Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND) in partnership with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

"In the past 30 days we've added over 150 jobs and plan to hire at least 50 more," said Patrick Hayes, Head of Manufacturing Operations. "We're incredibly excited for the opportunity to support the US government and pharma companies racing to develop a vaccine in record time."

To support the scaling of the Alabama-based manufacturing campus, SiO2 is investing an additional $160 million, adding two additional sites to the Auburn, Alabama based campus. To find out more about SiO2, click here.

About SiO2 Materials Science:

Managed by the same family for more than 100 years, SiO2 Materials Science is a privately owned U.S. advanced materials science corporation introducing breakthrough disruptive technology. The company is located in Auburn, Alabama. The company has deep partnerships with leading professors at the foremost research universities such as University of California, University of Chicago, MIT, and CalTech. For more information, visit www.sio2ms.com.

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SOURCE SiO2 Materials Science